diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f8d9468e1..ca48379ee 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/)
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 
+## [Unreleased](https://github.com/quartiq/stabilizer/compare/v0.8.1...main)
+
+### Fixed
+
+* Fixed a defect where powering up with Pounder attached would cause an internal panic.
+
 ## [v0.8.1](https://github.com/quartiq/stabilizer/compare/v0.8.0...v0.8.1) - 2022-11-14)
 
 * Fixed the python package dependencies
diff --git a/src/hardware/setup.rs b/src/hardware/setup.rs
index 839eab839..6246b6933 100644
--- a/src/hardware/setup.rs
+++ b/src/hardware/setup.rs
@@ -876,6 +876,12 @@ pub fn setup(
 
             let mut io_update = gpiog.pg7.into_push_pull_output();
 
+            // Delay to allow the pounder DDS reference clock to fully start up. The exact startup
+            // time is not specified, but bench testing indicates it usually comes up within
+            // 200-300uS. We do a larger delay to ensure that it comes up and is stable before
+            // using it.
+            delay.delay_ms(10u32);
+
             let mut ad9959 = ad9959::Ad9959::new(
                 qspi_interface,
                 reset_pin,